The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c9.s2: The Arabs fail to conquer Afghanistan
The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c9.s2
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The Arabs fail to conquer Afghanistan
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The Arabs had conquered and occupied Iran by 643 A.D., and pushed the frontier of the Caliphate to the western border of the Hindu kingdoms of Kabul and Zabul.⁶ Fired as they were by a resolute ambition for world conquest and for uprooting idolatry in the neighbouring land, it is likely that they must have launched an attack on the Kabul territory as early as 643 A.D. Certain it is that in 650 A.D. (30 A.H.) the Arabs made a determined attempt to conquer the Kabul valley. That year Ar-Rabi ibn Ziyad was directed by the Arab general Abdulla bin Amir, governor of Basra, to subdue Seistan, which was then a province of the Hindu kingdom⁷ and was administered by an officer of the Indian ruler. Ar-Rabi appeared before Zarang, the capital of Seistan, which lay on lake Zarah. He met with a fierce resistance and many Arabs were badly wounded. But he managed to inflict a defeat on the governor of Seistan and to proceed as far as Bust. He was, however, soon driven out, losing everything he had gained.⁸ In 653 A.D. Ibn Amir appointed Abdar Rahmna as governor of Seistan which had yet to be conquered. This officer occupied a part of Seistan, though not without resistance, and forced a contribution of twenty lakhs of dirhams from the Satrap (governor of Seistan). "He went into the temple of the Zur, an idol of gold with two rubies for eyes, and cut off a hand and took out the rubies. Then he said to the Satrap, "Keep the gold and gems. I only wanted to show you that it had no power to harm or help."⁹ After this success Abdar Rahman obtained control over Bust on the Helmand, and proceeded to Kabul. But his successor Umair was driven out and the country as far as Zarang reverted to the Hindu rule. In the reign of Muawiya (661-680 A.D.) Abdar Rahman was again appointed governor of Seistan, and he defeated the king of Kabul and captured the city. He also wrested Bust and Rukhkhaj from Zabul. But after his recall the rulers of Kabul and Zabul again drove away the Arabs from their countries and the new Arab governor had to conclude a treaty by which a sum of money was paid to him probably in return for a promise not to invade the Indian territories again. In 683 A.D. the people of Kabul broke the agreement and imprisoned Abu Ubaida ibn Ziyad. Yazid ibn Ziyad, the governor of Seistan, who attempted retribution, was defeated and killed in the battle of Junzah and his army was completely routed and put to flight with great slaughter. The result was that the Arabs once again lost Seistan, and had to pay to the Hindus five lakhs of dirhams as ransom for the release of Abu Ubaida. But there was no abatement in the Arab zeal for conquest, and soon after 683 A.D. they recovered ground in Seistan. The Hindu ruler of Zabul who offered a valiant resistance to the Arab expansion was killed in a battle. Nevertheless the war continued, for his son refused to give up the struggle. In 692 A.D. Abdullah, the new governor of Seistan, penetrated into the interior of the country. The Hindu resistance, however, obliged him to bind himself in writing not to raid, burn or lay waste the Ratbil's country as long as he was governor. The Caliph Abdal Malik (685-705 A.D.) did not approve of the treaty and dismissed Abdullah.¹⁰
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⁶ Philip K. Hitti, *The Arabs* (1948), p. 50.
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⁷ Seistan or Sijistan which lay to the south-west of the country, now known as Afghanistan, was a province either of Kabul or of Zabul.
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⁸ Biladuri, *Kitab Futuh-al-Buldan* (Eng. Trans. by Hitti and Murgotten), Part II, pp. 141-43.
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⁹ *Ibid*, Part II, p. 144.
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¹⁰ Biladuri, *op. cit.*, pp. 143-50.
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During al-Hajjaj's governorship of Iraq (696-713 A.D.) *Ubaidullah*, who was sent to Seistan, advanced to a mountainous path in the neighbourhood of Kabul, but his passage was blocked by the Hindus of the land, and he had to retreat, leaving his three sons as hostages in the hands of the king of Kabul. This humiliating treaty caused a split among the Arabs and one of their commanders, named Shuraih, renewed the war. But he was badly defeated and killed and his troops had to beat a retreat to Bust, many perishing of thirst and hunger. Ubaidullah died of grief. To wipe off this disgrace a very powerful force was raised and a special war-cess was levied from Basra and Kufa to equip it. In 699 A.D. it was despatched under Abdur Rahman to take the field against the king of Kabul. But even Abdur Rahman failed to conquer the Hindu kingdom, and the fiery Hajjaj was now obliged to make peace with the king of Kabul, agreeing not to make war for seven (according to another authority, for nine) years on the condition of being paid a tribute of nine lakhs of dirhams in kind. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 710 A.D. to compel the king of Kabul by force of arms to pay the subsidy in coined money. On Hajjaj's death in 714 A.D. the Hindu king refused to pay the tribute. During the reign of Caliph Sulaiman (715-717 A.D.) the ruler of Kabul paid no tribute whatever. The Abbasids who replaced the Umayyaid dynasty 749 A.D. tried to revive the glory of the Caliphate and to conquer Kabul and Zabul. Caliph al-Mansur (754-775 A.D.), the second ruler of this dynasty, conquered Kandhar and made a serious attempt to realise the tribute from Zabul, but although the Arabs recovered control over ar-Rakhkhaj, they failed to establish their firm hold even on Seistan.¹¹ The Arabs continued making attempts periodically to subdue Kabul and Zabul and to compel their rulers to pay them tribute, but these attempts did not achieve any great measure of success. Thus the Hindus of Afghanistan defied the arms of the mighty Caliphate for two hundred and twenty years and retained their practical independence inspite of the repeated onslaughts of the conquerors of the world.
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¹¹ Biladuri, *op. cit.*, Part II, pp. 139-55; Appendix: Note A, entitled 'The Hindu Kings of Kabul' in *Elliot and Dowson*, Vol. II (2nd edition), pp. 401-28.